Mourning Dress thumbnail 1
Mourning Dress thumbnail 2
+9
images
On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

Mourning Dress

1880s
Artist/Maker
Jay's General Mourning Warehouse
Place of origin
Great Britain (made)

A bodice and skirt of black silk satin. The bodice is fitted and boned, lined with black linen; it has long sleeves and buttons up the front with 16 black embroidered buttons. It is pleated and shirred, but otherwise has no other decoration. The skirt is pleated at the back to go over a bustle; it has a panel of shirring and pleating at the front and is trimmed at the hem with a pleated border.

Object details

Categories
Womenswear
Fashion
Death
Object type
Mourning dress
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Bodice
  • Skirt
Materials and techniques
Silk, linen, wood, baleen; machine-woven, hand and machine sewn, hand-embroidered.
Silk (Textile)
Linen (Material)
Baleen
Wood
Weaving
Hand Sewing
Machine Sewing
Hand Embroidery
Brief description
Bodice and skirt of black silk satin for mourning, Jay's, 1880s, British
Physical description
A bodice and skirt of black silk satin. The bodice is fitted and boned, lined with black linen; it has long sleeves and buttons up the front with 16 black embroidered buttons. It is pleated and shirred, but otherwise has no other decoration. The skirt is pleated at the back to go over a bustle; it has a panel of shirring and pleating at the front and is trimmed at the hem with a pleated border.
Marks and inscriptions
BY APPOINTMENT TO THE QUEEN / JAY'S / 245, 247, 249, 251 & 253 REGENT STREET (Woven into the waistband attached inside the bodice)
Gallery label
MOURNING DRESS
About 1885

A cult of mourning developed from the 1860s onwards and the rules for mourning dress were strict, requiring special dull, matte fabrics such as crêpe. However, dresses such as this closely followed latest styles. The glossy satin of this plain but elegant two-piece dress shows that it was probably worn for a later phase of mourning for a husband or close relative, perhaps a year after the bereavement.

Silk satin, with pleating and shirring
The waist-tape has a woven label reading ‘BY APPOINTMENT TO THE QUEEN / JAY'S / 245, 247, 249, 251 & 253 REGENT STREET

Museum no: T.47:1, 2-2018

Collection
Textiles and Fashion Collection
Accession number
T.47:1, 2-2018

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Record createdJuly 23, 2018
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1457181/mourning-dress-jays-general-mourning/
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